interview I’ve been anxious to write this series. The title seems more harsh than it really is. Essentially, there are many things I’ve learned over the past several months that I’m going to write about. Some of them I’ve learned simply because I’ve been out of the ministry. The beautiful part of all of this is that God is always talking, both during the good times and during the hard times. As inconvenient as “unemployment” has been for me and my family, I’m grateful for some of the experiences I’ve had, connections I’ve made and things I’ve learned.

Now, on to the first lesson:

As the title implies, I really feel I would be better at what I do if I interviewed more often. Now don’t put words in my mouth. I’m not saying it would be good to interview for a new job more often. But there is something powerful that happens when I interview… but maybe it’s just me.

It’s true that when interviewing for a new position, you want to present yourself at your very best. You want the church looking at you to be convinced that you got the stuff. I’ve found that when I’m interviewing, I spend a lot of time thinking. I think about my strengths. I think about my weaknesses. I think about the things I’ve done. I think about what’s been successful. I think about what hasn’t. In the mix of all these thoughts, I begin to formulate new vision. I plan how I’ll take what I’ve learned and implement it in the future. A new position means a new start. I know this was true for me when I moved to Texas. As soon as I hit the ground, I was able to put into action the things that God had put on my heart. It was a new beginning and ministry was beautiful. For me the last 6 weeks have multiple moments of clarity. I’ve done a lot of writing, planning and dreaming. Even now, I know what I’ll do differently. I know what I’ll do better. It’s amazing and I’m more excited than ever to get back at it.

So, my question is this. How do I get to this place without having to be in a position where I’m interviewing for a new job? It’s not exactly the position I want to be in every few year. I think intentional questions need to be asked on a regular basis.

  • What am I doing in ministry that is amazing?
  • What am I doing to cause these results?
  • What am I doing in ministry that is less than amazing?
  • What am I doing to cause these results?
  • What must I do to change these results?
  • What have I seen, read or heard about that’s making a big difference in ministry?
  • Would that apply to the ministry I’m doing?
  • How do I successfully incorporate that change?
  • What dreams do I have for ministry?
  • What must I do to see those dreams come true?

You know, I just made these questions up. They just seemed like good questions to ask. I know the answers to these questions are the things I am passionate about right now. All I know is that somehow it’s necessary to disconnect. You know what I mean. When you’re right in the middle of it all, you can’t tell up from down. Somehow, find a way to disconnect. Perhaps you take another couple of days off after a good vacation to reflect. Get charged up, filled with new vision and direction and go back in and attack.